Halper: Zelensky might be sending a signal by declaring Ukraine to be the next Israel

Journalist Katie Halper said it is unclear what Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky means by declaring that Ukraine will be the new Israel. 

“What’s interesting about it is that you can understand why he would say we would have to have military but it’s weird that he’s creating this kind of uber weaponized culture or that’s what he’s forecasting that he’s going to create,” Halper said while appearing on Hill.TV’s “Rising.” 

In an April 5 address, Zelensky declared that Ukraine plans to model itself after Israel, a heavily militarized state, rather than Switzerland, after the Russian invasion, according to the Jerusalem Post. 

Israel has repeatedly denied providing aid to Ukraine following the Russian invasion of the country, refusing to sell the country its Iron Dome missile defense system and blocking the United States from sending Iron Dome batteries to Kyiv, according to the Intercept. 

“We will not be surprised that we will have representatives of the Armed Forces or the National Guard in all institutions, supermarkets, cinemas, there will be people with weapons. I am sure that our security issue will be number one in the next ten years,” Zelensky said. 

Halper said Zelensky is trying to send a message.

“I think he’s probably signaling to an American audience, an Israeli audience, probably also the right wing population in Ukraine which he has to mollify. So it is a kind of a weird way to frame it again, imagining people walking around with weapons in supermarkets and cinemas,” she said. 

Halper said Zelensky may be trying to signal that Ukraine is a valuable ally to the U.S. 

“I think he’s trying to signal to the United States and Israel that he could be an effective ally. He’s also obviously signaling that he’s not going to back down,” she said.